Apparatus for handling materials



y 1941- N. R. ANDERSON 2.2 .8

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING MATERIALS Filed June 8, 1938 lWsvilR.flnderson,

Patented July 8, 1941 UNTED STAT APPARATUS OR HANDLING MATE IALS NevilleRupert Anderson, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 9 Application Junes, 1938, Serial No. 212,579 In Australia July 14,1937

This invention relates to improved means whereby separated, comminuted,or partlyffl'uid materials may be handled at any desired rate orconveyed from one point to another and subjected, if so desired, tovariousforms of processing, such as drying, retorting, calcining,grading, mixing, filtering, evaporating, concentrating, precipitating orthe like, during or'between handling or conveying stages.

My invention comprises the combination of an outer member in the form ofa relatively straight tube or tubes, trough or troughs of any desiredlength and width and having at least one material-carrying surface andadapted to be held stationary or to be reciprocated longitudinallyand/or turned about an axis parallel to itslength, a coacting innermember in the form of a relatively straight strip, angle-iron, or troughof any desired length and having at least one material-carrying surfaceand adapted to be turned about an axis parallel to'its length, andsuitable power or manually driven mechanism of known construction andoperation for effecting the desired movements of the outer and of theinner members at desired intervals and at any desired speed. In additionto being adapted to be turned, the inner member'may be adapted to bereciprocated longitudinally.

The outer j member is provided with feeding and dischargingdevices, ofknown construction and may be apertured to permit escape of steam,vapour, or the like. The inner member may serve as a scraper for theouter member 'or ma be supported independently thereof or the said innermember may be flexibly attached to the said outer member. The innermember is adapted to be positioned in or flexibly attached to the outermember longitudinally and will usually run the length of and may projectbeyond either one or both ends of said outer member. In each form of theinvention the outer and'the inner members are so arranged andco-ordinated in movements that a substantial quantity of the materialshandled is adapted to be transferred alternately from amaterial-carrying surface of one of the said members to amaterial-carrying surface of the other member with the resultthat thematerials are not pushed but are-carried from point to point. I

The mechanisms employed to effect the desired movements of the outer andthe inner members are'indic'ated throughout the specification and theclaims by the terms reciprocating mechanism, and turning mechanism, andthese terms are intended to represent any suitable known forms ofmechanism capable of effecting the desired movements. r

, In order that the invention may be more readily'nnderstood referencewill now be'made to the accompanying drawing which illustrates theinvention by way of example and wherein- Fig. 1 is a perspective view ofa portion of a tubular formof outer member;

-Fig. '2 is a perspective view of a portion of another form of outermember;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a. portion of an arcuate form of innermember;

Fig. 4 isa perspective view of a portion of a V -shape 7 form of innermember;

Figs. 5 and 6 are end views of an inner member of the form shown'by Fig.4 in an outer member of the form shown by Fig. 1; i

Fig. 7-is a longitudinal section of a kiln or the like containingmaterial conveying or shifting means of this-invention and actuatingmeans therefor, associated therewith, some parts being showninelevation; r

Fig. 8 is-acrosssection ofa tubular form of outer member having a flatinner member there- Figs. 9 to 13, inclusive, are views showing severalpositions of an inner material moving member and of material movedthereby in a tubular form of outer member the latter being shown insection;

-Fig.*14'is a section 'on line 14-14, Fig. 9.

Principles involved'in operation of means provided 'bythe invention areapparent by reference to Figs. 9-13, in which the outer member [5 is astraight tube, and the inner member I6 is a straight flat strip havingopposite flat surfaces H and I8. The inner member is of a lengthsomewhat greater than the outer member and of a width slightly less thanthe inside diameter or bore of the-outer member, The inner member hasscraping contact with the wall of the outer member. It may be assumed,for purpose of explanation, that one end of the outer member, designatedby I9, is the feed end, and the other end thereof, designated by 20, isthe discharge end.

As seen in-Fig5 9, pieces of material a, b, 0, etc., appearon andsupported by one of the flat surfaces of the inner member I6 beyond thefeed end ofthe outer member I5. The inner member ing on the innermember, as shown in Fig; 10.

Theinner member next is turned and inverted on its longitudinal axis,the outer member remaining stationary or also turned, depending upon thecharacter of the actuating instrumentality, so that the material isdumped to the bottom of the outer member, as shown in Fig. 11. Thereuponthe inner member is shifted to the left or the outer member to the rightto the position shown in Fig. 12, in which the inner member extendsbeyond the feed end of the outer member. The inner member then is turnedto the position it had at the beginning of the cycle as shown in Fig. 9.During this cycle, the material is brought to position inside of theouter member on the then upper surface'of the inner member, as seen inFig. 13, which also shows another and subsequent quantity of materialdeposited on the inner member.

material therein after it has been scraped up during the turningmovement.

In heat treatment of minerals, such as calcining of gypsum orlow-temperature carbonizetion of certain coals and shales for example,the invention gives some important advantages, in that time ofprocessing may be decreased substantially and the capital cost of plantreduced.

As an example of employment of elements and principles of the invention,Fig. 7 illustrates an embodiment in association with a retort orcomparable apparatus for calcining or otherwise processing material.

Cycles of reciprocations and turns, in the form" of rotations or,oscillations, as just described,

may be continued with the result that material is conveyed, step bystep, from the feed end to the discharge end of the outer member.

When it is desired to discharge material from thesame end of the outermember at which it has been introduced, the sequence of movements of theinner member, and of the outer member when it is moved, may be reversed.v

Movements of either or both members may be at any desired speed, speedmay vary in a cycle, and movements may be of such forms as vibra tions,sharp movements, movements with pauses,

- or relatively slow action, in accordance withthe nature of thematerial and the time it should remain under treatment in the outermember. One or more movements may be periodical or continuous; forexample, there may be several reciprocations between turning movementsand vice versa. In certain circumstances, either or both members mayhave reciprocating motion While turning movements are impartedto them.As isapparent, material is carried, as distin guished from pushed, intoand out of the outer member by being transferred alternately from acarrying surface of one member to the carrying surface of the other byturning-and longitudinal movements as described.

In many applications of the invention, ordinary metal tubes or pipes, asexemplified by the tube l5 in Fig. 1, may be usedwith advantagefor theouter members. In some instances, it is preferable to employ a pluralityof transversely arcuate open troughs 2|, such as may be afforded, forexample, by a corrugated sheet metal structure such as seen in Fig. 2.

Instead of a flat inner member l6, as seen in Figs. 8-14, the innermember may be of semicircular shape, as designated by 22 in Fig. 3; orit may be substantially V-shape in cross section, as designated by 23and seen in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, and which may be made by cutting desiredlengths from conventional angle-iron stock,

The flat strip form, the semi-circular form and the V-shape form ofinner members may be used in the tubular outer member illustrated byFig. 1 or in the open trough form as illustrated by Fig. 2. These innermembers, of whatever form, rest on and have scraping action on the wallof the outer member, as seen, for example, in Figs. 5, 6, and 14.

i The semi-circular and V-shape forms of inner members may be operated,like the flat form, in any desired cycles to move material in the outermembers; for example, in the cycle described with respect to the fiatform with reference to Figs. 9-13.

In't'his apparatus, which merely is one example of a number of practicaladaptations of the invention, a tubular outer member [5 extends from endto end of the retort chamber 24 and ismounted in end walls 25 and 26,the chamber being heated by combustion in a firebox 21 as by afluid-fuel burner 28. The inner member, for purpose of explanation, maybe assumed to be of the V-shape form 23. It lies along the bore of thetubular outer member, as seen in Figs. 5 and 6. It is shown as extendingat each end beyond an end of the outer member l5, at one end projectinginto a feed-box 29 and at the other end into a discharge-bin 30. It isin the material receiving and holding position shown in Fig. 6; that is,with its trough uppermost. The member 23, as seen in Fig. 4, at one endhas a metal piece 3| fixed to its edges, as by welding. This piece has ahole 32, which is aligned with a hole 33 in the bottom of the trough.

The holes 32 and 33 are to receive a leg 34 of a yoke, the other leg 35of which is disposed through a shaft 36. This shaft is carried by twobearings 31. on a frame 38 that is mounted on a block 39 slidable on abase 40. It extends into a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 4|, where itis connected to a piston 42. The shaft 36, be-

' tween the bearings 31, has a pinion 43 fast thereon. The pinion coactswith a rack 44 of a rod 45. This rod at its lower end extends into andis guided by the block 39, and at its upper end it extends into adouble-acting hydraulic cylinder 46 where it is connected to a piston41.

Movement of the pistons 42 and 41 in the cylinders 4| and 46,respectively, may be controlled by any suitable and conventional valvegear (not shown) arranged to permit admission and exhaust of fluid toand from the cylinders.

Assuming that the inner member 23 is in the position shown by Figs. 6and 7, which is comparable to the showing of Fig. 9, and that its endprojecting into the feed box contains material therefrom, the controlvalve gear may be operated to produce a cycle of operation of the innersuch as hereinbefore described; for example:

(a) The piston 42 shifts the shaft 36 and thereby the inner member tothe left, the frame 38 sliding with the shaft, and the material isbrought into the outer member, as comparably shown by Fig. 10.

(b) The piston 41, by means of the rod 45 and the rack-and-pinion gear,turns the shaft 36 and inverts the inner member, whereby the material isdumped to the bottom of the outer member, as exemplified by Fig. 5 andalso by Fig; 11.

(c) The piston 42 shifts the inverted inner member back to the positionshown in Fig. '7, which is comparable to the position typified by Fig.12.

(d) The piston 4'! causes the inner member to turn to its load bearingposition. During this turning, the inner member scoops up the materialfirst brought into the outer member and at its end either scoops up anadditional quantity of material in the feed box or receives a load frommaterial falling into the box. Then the inner member is loaded astypified by Figs. 6 and 13.

Such cycles may be performed serially tomove material through the outermember to its discharge end, at such speed with such pauses betweencycles and between motions of each cycle as is required to effect thedesired processing of the material.

The outer wall 48 of the discharge bin 30 may be of any suitableflexible sheet material, such as canvas or asbestos, fluted to permit itto stretch, and a central sealing plate 49 through which the shaft 30extends. The shaft carries two collars 50 secured to opposite sides ofthe plate. This arrangement is to permit the wall 48 to flex duringlongitudinal movement of the shaft and to afiord a seal at the shaft.

The outer member l may have openings 51 in its top to permit escape ofgases therefrom; or, for that purpose, a flue 52 may lead from theinterior of the inner member to the outside of the retort. A fiue 53leads from the retort chamber for exit of gases therefrom.

Fig. 8 exemplifies a form of the invention that includes means locatedat the sides of the outer member to reciprocate the inner member l6therein. The tubular outer member has slots 54 in opposite sides topermit tongues 55 fixed to the inner member to extend outside of theouter member, the slots being of sufiicient length to permit the tonguesto impart required longitudinal movements to the inner member. Thetongues, may have eyes 56 for connection with means to reciprocate theinner member. Escape of material from the outer member through the slotsis prevented by flexible sheet material 51, such as canvas or rubber,attached to the tongues and to the outer member so as to enclose theslots. P 1' l g 3 I claim:

1. Conveyer mechanism comprising an elongated tube member, an elongatedinner material carrying member disposed longitudinally therein incontact with the wall thereof, means to reciprocate one of said memberslongitudinally with respect to the other, and means periodically andindependently to turn said inner member on a longitudinal axis in saidouter member.

2. Conveyer mechanism comprising an elongated transversely arcuate outermember, an elongated inner material carrying member disposedlongitudinally therein with sliding contact with the wall thereof, meansto reciprocate one of said members longitudinally with respect to theother, and means periodically to turn said inner member on alongitudinal axis independently of said outer member.

3. Conveyer mechanism comprising an elongated transversely arcu-ateouter member, an elongated inner material carrying member ofsubstantially V-shape in cross section disposed longitudinally thereinwith sliding contact with the wall thereof, means to reciprocate one ofsaid members with respect to the other, and means periodically to turnsaid inner member on a longitudinal axis independently of said outermember.

4. Conveyer mechanism comprising an elongated transversely arcuate outermember, an elongated inner material carrying member having opposite flatsurfaces in and having sliding marginal contact with said outer member,and means independently to reciprocate and periodically andindependently to invert said inner member.

5. Conveyer mechanism comprising an elongated transversely arcuate outermember, an elongated inner material carrying member disposed thereinwith sliding and rotatably scraping contact with the wall thereof, meansto reciprocate one of said members longitudinally with respect to theother, and means to turn said inner member on a longitudinal axisindependently of said outer member.

NEVILLE RUPERT ANDERSON.

